Alek sighed, crossing his arms as he gazed at the imposing Grand Library before him.
"Well, I suppose an answer isn't going to fall from the sky, is it?" he murmured, glancing up at the strange starry sky.
The constellations seemed infinite, drawing unknown patterns he had never seen before. Some stars shone with a disconcerting intensity, almost as if they were just a breath away.
"It's strange…" he continued in a low voice. "The closest star to Johanna is supposed to be 70 light-years away. How can there be so many shining so brightly?"
With those questions circling in his mind, Alek began to wander aimlessly, his steps echoing in the stillness of the static city. He had no concrete plan, but something led him to the heart of Velmont City, where the Grand Library stood majestically—a monument to knowledge and time.
The building was awe-inspiring: a structure covering 100 square meters at its base and towering nearly 600 meters into the sky. Its design blended classical and modern elements, with ornate columns and glass panels reflecting the violet light of the strange sun. It was undoubtedly the heart of Velmont City, a testament to the history and achievements of the Halveth Confederation.
Alek knew this library housed the largest concentration of information in the entire country. He also knew that much of its records, especially the oldest ones, were restricted to the public.
"Hmm… I don't think I can get past the guards, no matter how much I try to bribe them…" he stopped, musing aloud. Then, an idea crossed his mind, making him smile wryly.
"Wait, in my current state… not even the guards or security could stop me."
Without further delay, he began climbing the stairs leading to the Grand Library's main entrance. Although the structure had stood for over 300 years according to the Cubper calendar, the stillness of the moment made it feel even older, as if time had no power over it.
"Let's see what secrets this place holds… maybe there's a record of where I am," he said, pushing the massive doors open, hoping to find something that would help him understand the strange world he was trapped in.
Alek didn't manage to take a single step inside the Grand Library before a sharp, dry sound stopped him in his tracks. Something had cracked—perhaps glass—but he didn't have time to locate the source.
Before he could react, he felt a strong pull in his abdomen, as if an invisible force had grabbed him and yanked him backward.
"What the hell—?!" he shouted, but his voice was lost as his body was dragged with increasing force.
At first, it felt like being tied to a string gently pulling him, but the gentleness didn't last long. Within seconds, the speed escalated to unbearable levels, as if he were a bullet fired straight to his destination.
Alek didn't stop screaming throughout the journey. He watched as the familiar streets of Velmont City blurred into streaks of color and shape until suddenly, his ride ended with a jarring abruptness that nearly knocked him unconscious.
He was back in his apartment.
His body stopped with surgical precision at the exact spot where he had been before leaving. In front of him, the glass he had dropped earlier was still suspended in mid-air, frozen like a paused image.
For a brief moment, time seemed to hold its breath, but then everything moved again. The glass resumed its fall, as if someone had unpaused a video, shattering into countless pieces upon hitting the floor.
Alek instinctively stepped back, stumbling and falling onto his back. A sharp pain in his legs told him some glass shards had lodged in his skin, but he couldn't focus on that.
He struggled to his feet, his mind completely overwhelmed, and walked to the window. He looked outside. The starry sky and the white sun were gone. In their place was the familiar warm glow of a normal sunset and the usual bustling sounds of the city. People carried on with their routines, unaware of what he had just experienced.
"What…?" Alek murmured, unable to find words.
A mechanical voice interrupted his confusion.
"Sir, you are injured. Activating service drone for immediate treatment," Therbo said in an efficient, calm tone.
From one of the walls, a humanoid drone emerged smoothly. It lacked legs, floating in the air via an artificial zero-gravity system. Its design was minimalist yet functional, with extendable arms equipped with medical tools.
"Please remain still while I proceed with the treatment," the drone ordered in a slightly robotic voice, approaching Alek with precise movements.
Still in shock, Alek didn't resist. As the drone tended to the wounds on his legs, his mind raced to process what had just happened. What kind of force had pulled him back? Why had everything returned to normal as if nothing had happened?
He remained silent while the drone worked on his injuries, but his mind was far from worrying about the glass shards embedded in his skin. Something within him had been activated—not a survival instinct but something closer to a reflex honed through countless hours in front of screens. His "gamer sense," as he liked to call it, had awakened.
He began analyzing the situation as if it were part of a video game.
"It's like a respawn… or a save point," he murmured, watching the drone work on his leg with surgical precision.
If that "other place" functioned like a game system, it meant he could act freely within its limits, experiment, explore… but once time ran out, he'd be returned to where he started.
"Wait," he thought, narrowing his eyes as he reflected. "Why didn't I return to the mall the first time I came out? That should've been my starting point, right?"
It was strange. When he first emerged from that dimension, he had ended up here, in his apartment, even though his initial entry had been at the mall. That broke the logic he had just imagined.
"Maybe… the starting point changes depending on something I did there…" he whispered, trying to make sense of it. His brain worked at full speed, formulating hypotheses as if solving a complex narrative puzzle.
Could it be that return points were linked to decisions or significant locations in that other world? Or perhaps there were rules he didn't yet understand.
The drone finished treating his injuries and spoke in its usual monotonous tone.
"Treatment complete. Please avoid sudden movements to prevent reopening recent wounds."
Alek barely paid attention. His mind was already fixed on a new idea.
"Therbo, how much time passed since I left?" he asked, carefully rising from the chair.
"I don't understand your question, sir. According to my home scanners, you were holding the glass, and for unknown reasons, you dropped it, sir."
The answer left him stunned. In that "other place," it had felt like hours, but here, in the real world, it had been an instant.
"So, time is different too…" he murmured, scratching his head. A faint smile, almost excited, appeared on his face.
Despite how confusing and dangerous it all seemed, Alek couldn't help but feel intrigued. That other world was a challenge, something that pushed him to think, adapt, and uncover its hidden rules.
"Well, looks like I've got a new game to win," he said with a spark of determination in his eyes as he gazed out the window.
The sky remained a typical sunset, but Alek knew that tranquility was just a façade. That "other side" was still there, waiting. And he was ready to go back.